What to Expect in 2019?

2019 will undoubtedly be another ground-breaking year for the energy storage sector, and EASE will be at the forefront of discussions with policymakers and other stakeholders to shape the future energy storage industry. In 2019 and beyond, EASE will focus on a number of key areas to further the development and deployment of energy storage technologies across Europe.

The European institutions will formally adopt the recast Electricity Directive and Regulation, part of the Clean Energy for All Europeans package. After this important step, the focus will turn to the implementation of these provisions in the European Union Member States, and EASE will issue its ideas and recommendations to support further policy measures to enhance the regulatory framework for energy storage. The European Commission will also issue its Gas Package proposals, aimed at updating the rules for the internal gas market, and many of these proposals will be of interest to the power-to-X storage sector.

Regarding the electricity network codes, discussions will continue on whether to amend them in order to include grid connection requirements for energy storage devices.

EASE will continue to monitor the implementation of the European network codes to ensure that the provisions do not create undue barriers to the deployment of storage and its participation in electricity markets.

After the European elections, EASE will engage with the new Members of the European Parliament and College of Commissioners to share  with them the role and value of energy storage, and to ensure their continued support for the storage sector.

EASE will support the discussions on the new Horizon Europe funding programme and continue its work on EU-funded projects, to support energy storage research, development, and deployment. With the support of its members, EASE will kick-start new EU-funded projects: Batteries Europe, ASSET and Battery 2030+. As in previous years, EASE will issue policy papers and recommendations in order to share its expertise on storage technologies and applications with policymakers.

EASE Task Forces on Mobility, Multi-Service Business cases, Hybrid Energy Storage Systems, and Energy Storage Applications will finalise and publish studies and recommendations on these topics. The aim is not only to share our members’ views, but also to kick-start discussions with policy-makers and other stakeholders. Also, two events will be organised by EASE in 2019 to reflect on the implementation of the Clean Energy for All Europeans package and on other aspects that are key to furthering the energy storage business case.